Gruss von Hede, German Bearded Lady

Postcard showing bearded lady, Gruss von Hede. It was posted in Munich in October 1916. The card would probably have been sold as a souvenir at places where she was exhibited as part of a circus, freak or variety show. A relatively small number of women are able to grow enough facial hair to have a distinct beard. In some cases, female beard growth is the result of a hormonal imbalance (usually androgen excess), or a rare genetic disorder known as hypertrichosis. Sometimes it is caused by use of anabolic steroids. Cultural pressure leads most to remove it, as it may be viewed as a social stigma. Bearded ladies were, and still are, a staple of a carnival sideshow. Von is a term used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality or as a simple preposition that approximately means of or from in the case of commoners.

1916 • ALEMAN • ALEMANA • ALEMANES • ANOMALIA • ATRACCIÓN • BLANCO Y NEGRO • CIENCIA • CONDICION • CONGENITA • CURIOSO • DÉCADA DE 1910 • EJECUTANTE • EUROPEA • EUROPEAS • EUROPEO • EUROPEOS • EXTRAÑO • FAMOSA • FAMOSO • FIGURA • FOTO • FOTOGRAFIA • GENETICA • GENTE • HIPERTRICOSIS • HIRSUTISMO • HISTORIA • HISTORICO • IMPORTANTE • INUSUAL • MEDICINA • MEDICINAL • MUJER BARBUDA • MUJER • MUJERES • PECULIAR • PERSONA • PERSONALIDAD • PERSONALIDADES • POSTAL • S. XX • SIGLO XX • SOUVENIR • TARJETA POSTAL